Uncle Josh
Graves revolutionized the role of the Dobro in country and bluegrass. An
extraordinarily gifted musician renowned for his rolling syncopated technique
and astonishing speed, his seminal recordings as a member of
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs' Foggy
Mountain Boys established the resonator guitar as an essential component of
postwar roots music. Born Burkett Graves in Tellico Plains, TN, on September 27,
1927, he first adopted the Dobro in emulation of boyhood hero
Cliff Carlisle, a fixture of
Jimmie Rodgers' landmark RCA sessions. Graves invented the "Uncle Josh"
persona as a teen while working as an announcer for Knoxville radio station WROL,
and upon joining the Pierce Brothers in 1942 he served as both a guitarist and
comedian. Stints in support of Esco Hankins,
Molly O'Day, and
Mac Wiseman followed before Graves attracted broad attention backing
Stoney Cooper and
Wilma Lee on WWVA's weekly Wheeling Jamboree. While a member of
Lexington-based WLEX's Kentucky Mountain Barn Dance in 1949, Graves apprenticed
under banjo innovator
Scruggs, eventually adapting
Scruggs' syncopated, three-finger picking style to the Dobro. With his
elegant yet bluesy approach, Graves was an invaluable addition to ballads, but
it was the uptempo breakdowns where his lyricism and energy shone most
brilliantly.
By the time Graves joined
Scruggs and partner
Lester Flatt full-time in May 1955, a move coinciding with the duo's recent
addition to Nashville station WSM's legendary Grand Ole Opry, the Dobro was so
much out of favor with country music tastemakers that he was instead installed
as
the Foggy Mountain Boys' bassist, additionally contributing comedic material
to their live performances. Graves nevertheless brought his Dobro on tour and
was given his own spotlight number, "Steel Guitar Chimes." The song proved so
popular with audiences that
Flat and Scruggs hired a new bassist, Joe Stuart, to allow Graves to
play resonator guitar full-time. Many country and bluegrass enthusiasts credit
the Dobro for reinvigorating
Flat and Scruggs' sound, and Graves remained a member of
the Foggy Mountain Boys until the band splintered in 1969. He also served as
a member of
Flatt's subsequent outfit, the traditional bluegrass combo
the Nashville Grass, and later tenured with
the Earl Scruggs Revue as well. Graves finally mounted a solo career in
1974, releasing his debut LP, Alone at Last, on Epic Records. He also emerged as
a much sought-after session musician, contributing to LPs including
Kris Kristofferson's Jesus Was a Capricorn,
Steve Young's Seven Bridges Road, and J.J. Cale's Really.
In the wake of his fourth headlining effort, 1979's Same Old Blues, Graves
shelved his solo career in favor of resuming his sideman career on a full-time
basis. In 1984 he partnered with fiddler Kenny Baker, a collaboration that
continued on an on-and-off basis for more than two decades. In 1990, they teamed
with banjo virtuoso
Eddie Adcock and mandolin great Jesse McReynolds as the Masters, winning the
International Bluegrass Music Association's award for Instrumental Recording of
the Year with their debut LP, Saturday Night Fish Fry. Graves also earned
induction into the IBMA's Hall of Honor in 1997. Although he suffered from
myriad health problems in the autumn of his life, eventually losing both legs to
amputation, Graves continued recording and touring into the 21st century, often
performing alongside son Josh Jr., a multi-instrumentalist who previously served
as a member of surf-rock hitmakers Ronny & the Daytonas; in 2002, he issued his
swan song, Memories of Foggy Mountain, teaming with a new generation of
bluegrass pickers including
J.D. Crowe and Audrey Haney. Graves died in Nashville on September 30, 2006,
just three days past his 79th birthday.

ALONE AT LAST - Skokiaan / My Tennessee
Mountain Home / Foggy Mountain Chimes / Loving You So Long Now / Time Of The
Year / Maiden's Prayer / Johnny Blacksmith / Great Big Woman / Long Road To
Houston / She's In Love With A Rodeo Man / Colorado Turnaround

JIMMIE
SKINNER SINGS BLUEGRASS - VOLUME II - Jimmie SKINNER with Josh GRAVES -
Prisoner's Song / Down The Road To Love / John Henry / Hem Of His Garment /
Don't Do It And It Won't Be On Your Mind / Bad Ole Lonesome Night / You
Don't Know My Mind / Lamplighting Time In The Valley / Cold Wind Is Blowin'
/ I Heard Jesus On My C.B. / Rambler's Call / Can't Be Wrong And Get By /
Wild Side Of Life

CHURCH IN THE WILDWOOD - Kenny BAKER &
Josh GRAVES - What A Friend We Have In Jesus / Amazing Grace / Pass Me Not
/ Get In Line Brother / I'll Fly Away / Shepherd / Old Rugged Cross / Church
In The Wildwood / Angel Band / Whispering Hope / Precious Memories /. He
Will Set Your Fields On Fire

WORLD FAMOUS DOBRO - Great Speckled Bird /
Nine Pound Hammer / Gathering Flowers From The Hillside / Wreck Of The Old
'97 / Silent Night / Down In The Valley / What A Friend We Have In Jesus /
Beautiful Brown Eyes / Maple On The Hill / Columbus Stockade Blues / In The
Pines / Just Because